Plot

At the Diclonius Research Institute, Chief Kakuzawa confirms both the details of a plan and the inability of anyone to stop its implementation, hinting at both Kurama, who has apparently made a choice Kakuzawa finds difficult to believe, as well as an unknown spy.

At the Kamakura beach side near Enoshima, Mariko is preparing to eliminate Nana, who whispers an apology to her 'papa,' Kurama. When Mariko taunts that she will find and kill him as well, Nana becomes enraged and slams Mariko with her remaining artificial arm, shoving her out of her wheelchair and surrounding her head with vectors, actually reversing the battle advantage and stunning Isobe as well as Mariko. Isobe chastises Mariko for playing with Nana instead of finishing her, but Mariko responds that Nana's power was just too fast for her, which makes Isobe recall some things Kurama said about Nana. A restored Nana then threatens to kill and bury Mariko if she should try anything. Mariko protests that 'big sis' got her worked up by talking about her loving father, whereas Mariko knows only that her father tried to kill her at birth, with Isobe taking in the irony that they are both talking about the same man. Despite Nana's warning, Mariko attacks again, only to have Nana brush her temple with her vectors, causing Mariko to suffer immense pain. It is at this moment that Kurama appears, with a tearful Nana running straight into his arms.

Mariko envisions beheading Nana, but to her and Isobe's shock, her vectors have been disabled, just as Nana once did to Lucy. But as Nana embraces him, Kurama looks past her and speaks to Mariko, who recognizes him as her father.

Trivia

With this chapter, the events of the anime and the manga split from one another and possess their differences regarding plot and smaller details. For example, in the manga, Kouta is not present at Nana's brutalization by Mariko.

Mariko sits on the cover in a young girl's one-piece swimsuit inside an inner tube on the beach, looking not for the first time as the image of one of her possible inspirations, Sarah McDougal of Love Hina.